1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to novelty balls, and more particularly, to a solid composition ball having an embedded spin fixture to allow fingertip spinning of the ball.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent improvements in molding methods have engendered a wide variety of novelty balls formed of polymerized thermoplastic foam. For example, numerous solid foam footballs are commercially available in various precision-molded shapes and sizes, and such balls enjoy widespread commercial popularity.
Lately, the popularity of such balls has been propagated by new and imaginative novelty features. For instance, the capability now exists to precision-mold such balls with helical grooves to facilitate throwing, and/or central air passages to improve the aerodynamics. U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,422 issued to Ma. shows an exemplary polyurethane foam throwing-ball with non-uniform grooves for altering the flight path.
It is also possible to mold such balls with embedded solid structures. Solid support frameworks, weights, whistles, and numerous other plastic structures are now commonly implanted or integrally molded within the balls. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,466 issued to MacDonald et al. discloses an aerodynamic football having a constricted air passage formed centrally through the ball. A pair of disks 32 and 34 are integrally molded within the body of the ball to provide support and stabilizing weight.
With state-of-the-art molding methods, the possibilities for other novelty features are limited only by the imagination. A particularly promising novelty feature had its origin in a different context, namely, inflatable balls. U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,016 issued to Bodor discloses a spin fixture for an inflatable ball which simplifies fingertip spinning. Fingertip spinning of a basketball is a very popular stunt. However, it is an extremely difficult maneuver using a conventional basketball. Bodor '016 attempts to solve this problem by incorporating a novelty spin fixture in a conventional inflatable basketball. The fixture includes a rotator 4 which sits on an annular bearing 6 which is in turn seated within a housing 3. The fixture is inserted through a perforation in the wall of the ball and is seated flush therewith, the wall being fused around the housing 3. The rotator 4 remains exposed to provide a seating for the fingertip. In addition, both rotator 4 and bearing 6 accommodate insertion of an air needle for inflation of the ball.
It would be greatly advantageous to provide a spin fixture to be implanted or integrally molded within a solid composition ball, for example, a polymerized thermoplastic foam basketball. Unfortunately, the Bodor '016 fixture is not well suited for this type of ball. The flange of housing 3 would be inappropriate for anchoring the fixture within a solid ball. In addition, the Bodor '016 device also has a large area of frictional contact between the bearing 6 and rotator 4. This contact surface is insignificant in a heavy conventional basketball where the resulting friction is overcome by momentum. However, in a lighter solid composition ball the friction would seriously interfere with the spin quality. Furthermore, the rotator 4 of Bodor '016 is shallow and provides minimal support on the fingertip.
There would be great commercial promise in a solid composition ball with spin fixture which avoided the above-described drawbacks.